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The Secret Lives of Dentists

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The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003)

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Reviews Counted:93

Fresh:79

Rotten:14

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: A witty and honest look at marriage in decay.

Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $3,637,833

Synopsis: Hope Davis and Campbell Scott play married dentists in this insightful dramatic comedy from director Alan Rudolph (AFTERGLOW, DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE). Based on the novel THE AGE OF... Hope Davis and Campbell Scott play married dentists in this insightful dramatic comedy from director Alan Rudolph (AFTERGLOW, DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE). Based on the novel THE AGE OF GRIEF by Jane Smiley, the story begins with husband David's suspicion that his wife (and mother of their three adorable daughters) is having an affair. The details of their family life and David's mounting suspicion are brilliantly evoked via overlapping dialogue, great editing, and masterful camerawork. David's jealous mind soars onto some hilarious flights of fancy and eventually caustic comedian Denis Leary turns up as his cigar-smoking alter-ego, expressing all the independent and antisocial traits David has tried so long to repress for the sake of his family. All of this culminates in a hilarious yet harrowing week when the family is hit by a flu virus. SECRET LIVES' performances are very strong, with Scott proving himself an actor of great restraint and subtlety. The young actresses who play the daughters are uniformly talented, as is Robin Tunney (THE CRAFT) as a dental assistant. The lion's share of credit is due to director Rudolph, who is in top form with this film, displaying his mastery of the ensemble cast, camera, and audio tricks; Rudolph and his mentor, Robert Altman, are of the few directors capable of working with such perceptive, funny, and warmly human results. [More]

Starring: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney

Starring: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney, Gianna Beleno, Cassidy Hinkle, Lydia Jordan

Director: Alan Rudolph

Director: Alan Rudolph
Screenwriter: David Newman, Alan Rudolph
Producer: George Van Buskirk, Campbell Scott
Composer: Gary DiMichele
Studio: Manhattan Pictures International

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Reviews for The Secret Lives of Dentists

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
07/14/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
08/14/05
Empire Magazine
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
08/13/05
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
N/R

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Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
08/03/05
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

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Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
08/07/04
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine

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Full Review Source: Boston Herald | comment Comment
02/02/04
Paul Sherman
Paul Sherman
Boston Herald

Retrata com sensibilidade o cotidiano de uma família em crise e representa mais uma prova dos talentos de Scott e Davis.

comment Comment
01/30/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

One of those quietly brilliant indies, so small in scope that it takes a little extra attention to appreciate how deeply it plunges into its characters.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
01/15/04
Kim Linekin
Kim Linekin
eye WEEKLY

The Secret Lives of Dentists is a provocative title, promising much more than this domestic melodrama is able to deliver.

Full Review Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette | comment Comment
01/01/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

...[T]he potency is abrogated by Rudolph’s indulgent pretension of including Scott’s personified conscience in the form of an obstreperous patient...

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
12/31/03
Greg Muskewitz
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

Rudolph's fondness for angular, oblique characterization is ideally suited to the movie's incidental story of sublimated feelings and contradictory impulses.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
11/14/03
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star

Domestic scenes with the kids are drawn with letter-perfect naturalism.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
11/14/03
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

For me (unlike some critics who have embraced this film), Leary becomes so persistent, so grating and so bloody irritating that I want to scream: Stop the madness! End the pain!

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
11/14/03
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/01/03
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Austin Chronicle

Refuses to chuck us under our chins and tell us everything is OK.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
09/26/03
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

[Campbell Scott gives] a brilliant performance, with hints of humor, rage and agony all lurking around the edges.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
09/14/03
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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